We decided that there really should be a bridge across that dang lake, views and EPA be danged.
Also, Tess kept asking when we were going to be at the park. She actually asked that about a thousand times the day before as well, but she obviously hadn't listened to a single patient explanation from us that we were, in fact, in the park and that there were no playgrounds. Yellowstone is a park, but not that kind of park. Hard stuff for a three-year-old to comprehend. (She never did get it.)
We got to the Old Faithful parking lot around mid-morning and the place was pretty packed. It was then that I decided that Yellowstone is the Disney World of national parks.
We saw lots of people waiting around for Old Faithful and decided to wait for a bit to see what would happen. There weren't any benches left, so we sat on the edge of the boardwalks and had a fantastic, uninterrupted view. Old Faithful belched and gurgled and faked us out several times. The best part for me was listening to the crowd whenever something interesting happened (with collective oooohs) and then with disappointed aaaaahss when it turned out to be nothing.
The kids were pretty good about the wait, although Cole really couldn't figure out what we were waiting around for.
We picked a great time to get there, though, because we only waited around 20 minutes before the show began. Very exciting! It erupted for quite a while, allowing for lots of viewing, oohing and awwing, and picture taking.
A selfie with the world-famous geyser seemed the obvious thing to do.
After the geyser was done we hiked around the big loop in the area, seeing tons of geysers and pools and such. Tess was in a stroller and promptly fell asleep for the majority of the hike. (This was a good thing.) Lance and the older boys lead the way while Cole and I meandered hand in hand in the back. Cole especially liked pointing out the stinky spots. (Of which there were many.)
About 10 minutes in Josh complained about needing to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, there weren't any nearby, so for the rest of the way he walked quickly and scampered and just about exploded.
The blue pools were my favorite.
More big geysers erupting.
Cole had to read EVERY SINGLE SIGN out loud. This was entertaining and a little annoying, at least when we were trying to keep going and he insisted on stopping. Poor Josh was crossing his legs at this point.
I remember this one was pretty loud.
Okay, so we have a lot of pictures in front of steaming pieces of earth. But it was very cool and impressive! And if any of my kids have to do reports on geysers or volcanoes or Yellowstone then we will be all set.
We finally made it to the potties - and there was a line. I thought poor Josh was gonna die. Tess woke up soon after I took this picture. Then she decided to go into the potty with me, which was actually a pit toilet. So, of course very loudly she exclaimed "Ewww! I smell something in here!!", much to the amusement of all in line behind us.
More pools.
We decided to take the more direct way back because we were running out of water, it was getting hot, and it was well past lunch time. In the past year or so we have discovered that I get very cranky if I don't eat on time - a bad habit I learned from my children, I'm sure. (Or my hormones, one of the two.) So we booked it back. It was a pretty long walk and we were all dragging by the time we made it back to Old Faithful - just in time to see it erupt again! Score! Bonus eruption!
We finally made it back to the car - the parking lot was a a MADHOUSE by this point - and threw some Capri Suns and snacks at the kids. There was nowhere near by to eat because the park wants you to eat at all of the Old Faithful restaurants in the area. (At those prices? No thanks.) I was pretty sad about not being able to go into the Old Faithful Lodge or the visitor's center, but everyone was HANGRY (hungry+angry) at this point and there was no way we were going to face the ever-worsening crowds and come back. Oh well - next time.
We stopped at the Whiskey Flats picnic area and dug in. Halfway through eating Tess declared she had to go potty, and of course there was a line. But while in line we chatted with a Mormon Momma and her three girls, who were visiting from Alaska.
After lunch Tess found a nice rock to sit on. And one to hold.
Then Cole declared his potty intentions, heaven only knows why he didn't have to go earlier and save us another wait in line. So while Lance and Cole waited the kids and I played "balance on the logs" and took some pictures.
I'm really sad Cole wasn't in this picture, because what a great one it would have been of all my kiddos! Still pretty cute, though.
True story: Josh told me to stand just like this. Attractive, I know.
We had had discussions about how you couldn't pick the wildflowers - much to Tess's dismay - so she improvised with a bouquet of sticks. She was really in a silly mood that afternoon, and kept cracking her brothers up by saying funny things and singing silly songs she made up. (Their favorite? "The Flying Boat".)
We hit a few more spots that afternoon. I *think* this is part of Grand Prismatic Spring, but I can't really remember.
I do remember that this was called the Bacteria Mat. Attractive.
My husband, who was probably thinking something along the lines of "How many pictures is this woman going to take?" More. So many more.
Spencer in front of some geyser or hot pot or something. Really, it's all starting to blend together at this point.
Because really, if you've seen one hot pot...
... you've seen them all.
We stopped at the Painted Pots last, but we didn't even go all the way around the loop. It had been pretty dry, so there wasn't much to see. Plus, by this point we were all TIRED. Fun fact: at this hike you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a German tourist. They were everywhere!
So we all piled into the car and started our long drive back to the east entrance. A few miles south of Fishing Bridge we came into sudden traffic and there were all these people acting crazy, getting out of cars, standing in the road, taking pictures of what appeared to be nothing. But, as we got a little closer we realized there was a bear way off in the distance! A real live Yellowstone bear! Only I was tired and just wanted to get the heck outta Dodge, so I had little patience for all the hullabaloo. But since we were stopped I did snap a quick picture. The bear is that tiny brown dot almost dead center - it kinda looks like a tree trunk.
We stopped for a potty break, drove for about 10 minutes, when Tess declared she had to go potty. Grrr... Lucky for her there was a pit toilet along the side of the road by the lake. So we stopped there for a few minutes and used the facilities. Everyone had a grand time throwing rocks into the lake. It was actually really nice, with the wind blowing and the sound of the waves and our kids laughing and having fun. It helped me remember why I go to all the effort of planning trips like this.
That night in Cody we decided to eat at a local Mexican place. (This decision based solely on the ad that claimed "Food so authentic you'll wonder if you can drink the water.") Bad choice. The food wasn't bad, but it was not really a kid-friendly place. And it was super-pricey for what it was and there were all sorts of spills and growls from the children and - get this - you had to go through a candy store just to get into the restaurant. What the what?! So of course we got suckered into buying the kids large suckers on the way out. (Which was good and bad - they were quiet for a good 90 minutes of the drive the next day. But then they were also quite sticky for the rest of the drive.)
Overall, it was a great trip to Yellowstone. Worth the extra day of driving we had to do the next day to get from Cody to Provo. (Which was very, thankfully, uneventful and will not be getting its own post.)
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